The pointed stick
There’s a photo of Mark Twain hard at work that reveals how difficult it is for anybody to write, even a genius. His face is cast in careworn struggle, and for good reason. Full Story
Why President Obama became a snoop
Before Barack Obama became president, he reveled in the irresponsibility of his powerlessness. He could denounce Bush administration counterterrorism initiatives from a glorious position of civil-libertarian purity and posit the need to strike a perfect balance “between privacy and security.” Full Story
Terror bytes: Edward Snowden and the architecture of oppression
Edward Snowden revealed himself recently as the whistleblower responsible for perhaps the most significant release of secret government documents in U.S. history. The former CIA staffer and analyst for the private intelligence consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton spoke to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Barton Gellman in Hong Kong, providing convincing evidence that the U.S. Full Story
What’s hot, besides the weather
Little known facts about moi: I hate beer, I can read upside-down text in a British accent, I’m clinically tone deaf and I’m a total geek for local history. Full Story